By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has revealed that 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) accessed N92.4 billion in Universal Basic Education (UBE) Matching Grants between January and June 2025.
In addition, the Commission disbursed N19 billion under the 2023/2024 Teacher Professional Development (TPD) fund to 32 states and the FCT, and released N1.5 billion under the School Based Management Committee School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) to 1,147 communities across all 36 states and the FCT.
UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Aisha Garba, made the disclosure in Abuja on Monday at the opening of a three-day financial management training for State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) officials. She was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Rasaq Akinyemi.
Despite the recent disbursements, Garba expressed concern over the poor uptake and slow utilisation of UBE funds by state governments. She noted that over N250 billion in matching grants remains unutilised by the 36 states and the FCT.
“While these achievements represent progress, a major challenge persists the reluctance of some states to access or effectively utilise their allocated funds. As of today, more than N250 billion is still lying unspent in the accounts of the 36 SUBEBs and FCT-UBEB,” she said.
Garba stressed the importance of efficient fund management to improve basic education infrastructure, teaching quality, and overall learning outcomes. She noted that the theme of the training, ‘Efficient and Effective Management of the UBE Intervention Funds’, aligns with UBEC’s goal of ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of basic education resources.
The training will focus on several key areas, including a revised template for SUBEB Action Plans, updates on the Nigerian Tax Reforms Act 2025, and how to avoid financial infractions that could lead to audit queries.
